US healthcare giant Steris this week completed its acquisition of Swindon-based Synergy Health, creating a global group with revenues of nearly £1.7bn and employing 14,000 people in 60 countries.
Following the takeover, Ohio-based Steris, which provides infection prevention to clients in the healthcare, pharmaceutical and research industries, has created a new UK-registered company. 
The deal, announced 13 months ago, was delayed by US regulators, who tried to block it on competition grounds. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) claimed the acquisition broke anti-trust rules as Synergy had decided not to sell its x-ray sterilisation equipment in the US market where it would have competed against Steris’ gamma ray technology.
It also drew flak from campaigners who saw it as another attempt by a major US company to lower its tax bill. Steris paid tax at a rate of 31.3% in the US but registering the new combined business in the UK is expected slash this to 25%.
Steris president and CEO Walt Rosebrough said: “This combination marks a significant milestone for Steris, creating a stronger global leader in infection prevention and sterilisation, better-positioned to provide comprehensive solutions to medical device companies, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and other healthcare facilities around the world.”
Synergy Health was founded in 1991 by CEO Dr Richard Steeves through the introduction of surgical packs to reduce the rate of HIV infection in operating theatres. It expanded to provide services ranging from hospital laundry to sterilising sophisticated medical devices and today sterilises more than 75m surgical instruments for hospitals a year.
In 2007 it acquired Swindon-based sterlisation group Isotron and later moved its head office to the town.
As well as its headquarters is on the Windmill Hill Business Park, the head office of Synergy’s Applied Sterilisation Technologies division is on Swindon’s Elgin Industrial Estate and it also operates an electron beam sterilisation plant and microbiological services laboratory at South Marston.
When Steris launched its bid Synergy was listed on the London Stock Exchange as a FTSE-250 company and operated from more than 115 sites worldwide.
Steris, which can trace its history back to 1894 with the founding of American Sterilizer Company – a long-time, global leading innovator of sterilisation products – was already the world’s pre-eminent infection prevention, decontamination, and surgical and critical care company.
